NEWS

DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin has hit back at the BJP and AIADMK saying he is not a dynast and is proud of being the grandson of Karunanidhi and son of MK Stalin.

Udhayanidhi Stalin, who is contesting the Tamil Nadu assembly election, told India Today TV, "I am not a dynast. I am proud of being Karunanidhi's grandson and Stalin's son. The AIADMK must answer why it is run by the BJP."

Taking a swipe at DMK youth wing leader Udhayanidhi Stalin for being given a party ticket for Tamil Nadu assembly polls, Chief Minister E Palaniswami alleged it was a case of dynasty politics and asked people to end such a culture by not choosing DMK nominees in the election.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on Monday said it has filed a police case against a Bollywood actor for allegedly violating COVID-19 guidelines. The civic body in a release said despite being infected by the coronavirus, the actor moved out in public places and took part in shootings. As there is a chance of spread of the coronavirus infection among others, the BMC has filed the FIR against the actor, the release said without naming the actor.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday reacted sharply after Minister of State for Home, G Kishan Reddy, introduced the Government of NCT (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in Parliament. Condemning the move by the central government, the Chief Minister tweeted, “After being rejected by ppl of Del (8 seats in Assembly, 0 in MCD bypolls), BJP seeks to drastically curtail powers of elected govt thro a Bill in LS today. Bill is contrary to Constitution Bench judgement. We strongly condemn BJP’s unconstitutional n anti-democracy move”.

In a successive tweet, Kejriwal elaborated on the aspects of the bill that he termed is against the July 4, 2018 Constitution Bench judgment of the Supreme Court. The landmark verdict on the tussle of power between the elected government and the Lieutenant Governor’s office had ruled that except in cases of land, police and public order, the elected government has the power to make decisions while informing the Lieutenant Governor. The verdict was silent on services and that case is still before the Supreme Court.

With Covid-19 vaccination turnouts in the city consistently below the government’s expectations, district teams have fanned out across the Capital in a bid to convince people aged above 60 and those over 45 with serious illness to get inoculated against the infection, which has steadily inched up in the city over the past few days.

A senior government official said the teams have also been entrusted with helping people register and book vaccine slots through the Centre’s CoWin system and arrange conveyance for them if required.

“We want to scale up the vaccination drive by increasing capacity as well as turnout. This cohort mobilisation exercise is an important step in that direction. We have to ensure that a large number of people are protected against the disease at the earliest,” said Vijay Dev, Delhi’s chief secretary.